What Just Happened?
There were some out there (we won’t name names) calling the loss at UCF one of the worst of the Bill Self era. And while that was a hard 2nd half to watch, it now has competition for worst loss of the season, after KU fell 91-85 on the road against 6-11, Bob Huggins-less West Virginia. We’ll try to dissect some of it.
Maybe West Virginia Isn’t So Bad (I hope)
If you would have told me that KU lost to a 6-11 team at the start of the season, I and many others would not have believed you. We would have laughed. Let’s say after some persuasion I did believe you, I would first ask if you were okay, then say that the sky is falling, and the program is cooked for the near future. Even with some injuries you’d expect to beat a 6-11 team. 6-11 is not good considering most of the games are non-conference. But there were no injuries, and KU did lose. So let’s get to the bottom of it.
9-11. No, this is not a conspiracy theory. West Virginia opened the game absolutely blazing on fire, making 9 of their first 11 threes. That would be a terrific start for 2018 Villanova, the 2016 Warriors, or a starting 5 composed of 5 Gradey Dicks. West Virginia averages just about 30% from 3, one of the poorer shooting teams in the conference. But they came out white hot and went toe-to-toe with the Jayhawks. Because let’s be honest, KU played a great game offensively, particularly in the first half where they also came out hot. There are improvements to be made defensively for sure, but the looks weren’t all wide open for the Mountaineers. It was just good (read: comical) shotmaking for a team that will probably play a lot more like they did on Saturday going forward, especially as they get healthy.
Going into specifics, RaeQuan Battle starred for West Virginia, leading the Mountaineer charge with 23 points. He hit a bunch of contested jumpers and fade aways, and got to the line when he missed. He hasn’t been totally healthy, but when he plays, it seems like West Virginia can actually win a lot of games.
Furphy and Timberlake Looked Great, For a Half
While West Virginia came out firing on all cylinders, so did KU, and in particularly Johnny Furphy. He had us fans in awe about the new scoring potential of this team, and even had some wondering if he would declare for the draft this summer. Just like against Oklahoma St, he hit some big shots early, but then did hardly anything scoring wise in the 2nd half. We’ll take it though, as it’s a lot more than what we were getting before. The shots weren’t falling, but I’m confident it’s more of a coincidence/fluke that he’s not scoring in 2nd halves rather than a problem.
Speaking of 1st half stars, Nic Timberlake put on a little 1st half show as well. He came in off the bench, made a couple 3s and some athletic finishes as well. That’s the kind of game he should be looking to emulate from here on out. I also liked his missed 3 as well. He was open, called for the ball, and got the shot off. It didn’t fall, but that’s the confidence he needs going forward.
KJ Adams Stuff
Just a couple interesting K.J. Adams tidbits. Was he playing point guard? Point forward? He had a nice alley oop to Dickinson on one of those plays, but in general I’m not sure I liked it. Willing to be convinced though.
I did like his defense on RaeQuan Battle though. No one was going to stop him, but I thought K.J. looked pretty comfortable out there guarding Battle on a few possessions. Not biting on crossovers or pump fakes or anything. The defensive versatility is there for them, but overall it’s been rough recently.
Conclusion
Well, that’s about it for now. I’m certainly far less upset/concerned than I was after UCF. West Virginia just made a bunch of 3s and other tough shots and the home court advantage helped them close it out. This will hurt the ranking and computer metrics that just went up after OSU, and will probably hurt in the standings later in the year, but time to move on.